Sept. 3, 2006
SAN DIEGO - Despite outshooting UC Santa Barbara, 18-11, including a 14-4 advantage in the second half, the No. 29 San Diego State women's soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to the Gauchos (1-1-1) Sunday at SDSU Sports Deck. With their second consecutive loss, the Aztecs fell to 2-2 on the season.
In a physical game which featured a combined 42 fouls, UCSB took advantage of an unusual goal at the 16:59 mark and Katie Wright came up with 12 saves to preserve the win for the Gauchos.
In the 17th minute, SDSU sophomore Erika Sutton suffered an injury in UCSB's side of the field and teammate Lisa Nielsen kicked the ball out of bounds as the Aztec athletic medicine staff tended to Sutton's injury. After play resumed, the Gauchos' Rachael Ritchey kicked the ball toward the SDSU defense as a sportsmanship gesture. As Aztec goalkeeper Cat Burson waited to receive the pass, UCSB's Chandi Bickford raced after the ball and shot it over Burson's head from 40 yards out and into the left side of the net.
The Gauchos would head into the halftime intermission with a 7-4 lead in shots and 4-1 advantage in fouls.
The majority of the second half was in UCSB's side of the field, as SDSU fired 14 shots, including nine on goal, and had three corner kicks to the Gauchos' two.
UCSB's Wright saved all nine attempts on goal in the second half, including a diving save in the 57th minute off the foot of Sutton from 25 yards away.
Burson, who played for the Gauchos in 2004, was just as good on the other side of the field for the Aztecs. Burson made eight stops, including a diving save to her right on Darci Gwartz's attempt from just outside the penalty box.
Down a goal in the late stages of the second half, SDSU went to a three-back defense, something it hadn't done all year. UCSB took advantage of the Aztecs' pressure when Genelle Ives took a through pass from Bickford and beat Burson on a breakaway chance from 12 yards.
Sutton led the SDSU offense with a game-high four shots. Sophomores Jen Mello and Mariko Strickland each had three attempts, including two on net.
The Aztecs will travel to the UC Irvine Tournament this weekend. SDSU will meet the host Anteaters at 8 p.m. Friday before taking on UC Riverside at 11 a.m. Sunday.